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Tasty but pricey

I have to agree with most of the reviews already written in that pizza hut does good tasting food but it comes at a cost.
I went last night and had an 'individual' pizza which I ended up eating 2 slices of because it's still pretty big at 11 inches. This cost £8.95 and while I certainly did enjoy it I thought that £8.95 was rather pricey just for a pizza.
The options for toppings are pretty standard and there's a selection of bases to choose from.

With every main meal you get a free unlimited salad bowl. The bowls are left on the table by your server and you go and help yourself from the bar.
The bar has a lot of variety from pasta salads to cous cous to croutons and the usual lettuce and tomatoes. They also have a wide selection of dressings. I love salad so this is great for me.

The drinks are refillable and there's a cool option for different flavours of well known sodas. For example, you can choose 7up with a shot of strawberry or lime flavour.
I like this idea of being able to try sodas that aren't readily available in the shops. These are priced at £2.25, I think an option should also be available for a cheaper alternative for people who just want a simple half pint of coke. Lets face it not many people can drink more than a pint of soft dink with their dinner!

The servers were all very friendly and helpful, our waitress put our left overs in a box for us to take home which I appreciated.

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A nice dining experience although the pizza didn't blow me away.

Pizza Hut is a restaurant chain which originally began in America but now have restaurants all over the world. As the name indicates, the majority of their menu is made up of pizza but they do sell alternatives such as pasta dishes and many side dishes including garlic breads and chicken wings. Their pizzas are also available for takeaway although I have never lived close enough to a Pizza Hut to benefit from this service.

The food is generally of quite a good quality although I don't think it is as good as you would expect from the price. The big plus of Pizza Hut though is their free salad bar. Although the salad isn't the greatest quality, there is quite a large range to choose from and with unlimited refills you can fill up as many times as you like which is nice whilst you are waiting for your food. The Pizza Hut restaurants I have visited now also have free refills for soft drinks which I always really appreciate.

The restaurants themselves are always nicely decorated and I think they are one of the companies who have really put thought into the design of their table layout. Although the restaurant is often busy, the tables are layed out so you still feel like you have some privacy.

This chain isn't my first choice for a meal out but I have eaten then out of convenience on a number of occasions and have had a pleasant, filling evening - particularly when I have vouchers or they have offers on.

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Great food, quite costly.

Being a previous employee of Pizza Hut I know how the company is run and how the food is made and stored. It is not a poorly run company as I still ate there and still order for home delivery now.

Pizza Hut is by far the best pizza restaurant in my opinion as it beats all others for taste (even dominoes). They offer a range of differently topped pizzas as well as the option to make your own. They also offer side dishes such as chicken wings, wedges, garlic bread and nachos.

Whilst working in a Staffordshire branch they always abide to the strict cleanliness standards. For example, using specific cleaning solutions for specific surfaces and hand washing techniques.

If you are a vegetarian or gluten free customer please beware though as you cannot always ensure they wash their hands in between making meat eaters pizzas and yours, or making regular pizzas then switching to a flour free pizza.

A positive about the company is that there is a free unlimited salad bar; it is not the best salad in the world but it curbs the hunger whilst waiting for the mains and there is quite a variety to choose from.

They have also started doing unlimited refills which is great even if the glasses are extremely small and you have to make multiple trips to the machine.

Finally, the price of the pizzas are quite costly, with a large cheesy bites pizza costing approximately £18. However, if you opt for the delivery option at the moment they have a deal on in which you can purchase two large pizzas, two set sides and a bottle of pop for £20.

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If you like cardboard please try.

I've managed to get more than halfway through life without ever sampling the delights of Pizza Hut. How, you might ask... well, I don't like tomatoes so pizza has always been off the menu. Tonight though, as my son was ordering a take away he asked if I fancied anything, adding that "they do garlic bread, chicken strips and chips you know". Being the person that cooks every night I thought to myself 'Why not?' I sat down, feet up and looked forward to a plate full of effort free tasty food. The delivery chap arrived in good time and the selection of goodies immediately distributed to the hungry souls. What a pile of rubbish... the out-right cheek of Pizza Hut to emblazon their boxes with 'Oven Hot to Your Door', a new-born baby's bathwater would be hotter than the insipid selection of processed junk offered up. The chips, limp and bland, certainly not 'as described'. The chicken strips had clearly been exposed to some heat at some point, evidenced by the slight browning to one side, but clearly the heat hadn't been applied recently. The crispy coating had the texture of three day old popcorn, you know, when it squeaks against your teeth! Finally we must mention the garlic bread... completely devoid of the merest hint of garlic. The bacon topping was present but added little flavour. I may as well have been nibbling the corner of the (misinformation bearing) box. Thinking about it, I should give Pizza Hut some credit because one promise was kept... they delivered it all. If they hadn't I suppose they would have breached our 'contract', instead they chose to breach the trades description act... something much more difficult to counter. Never again.

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no loyalty to customers

Very very disappointed after attending Pizza Hut star city. If any of you want to be treated as the staff are doing you a favour then carry on, but the staff at this place are forgetting customers attend pizza hut to enjoy their food if you question why its taken so long & as why its cold its cse they had other customers to attend to & its because the staff were fasting so they left our pizza on the side while they opened their fast & then remembered to serve us our cold pizzas. they will tell you to wait another 20mins to get you a fresh hot pizza. The manager is no better surley its only common sense to not have every member of staff going of on lunch break at the same time! I appreciate thst every1 has religious duties to attend by closing & opening their fast on time but The Staff at tgis pizza hut are very rude non apologetic your all better of spending your hard earned cash dinning somewhere were you'll get the satisfaction of enjoying!

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My advice: Come early to get a table and the food at the time you want it.

Our local Pizza Hut stores are Chesterfield, Sheffield, Mansfield and Nottingham. They are all pretty much the same except for their size and busyness. Parking at any Pizza Hut is often a chore because whilst some do have their own car parks they are always full, not monitored and therefore, attract freeloaders who park and then go elsewhere leaving customers to use the paying car parks, or parking on the road.

Inside staff greet you with a hello and then seat you at your table. By which point they sometimes forget about you, and you have to ask to order rather than be asked to order. This happened to me the last time I went and many times before sadly. The staff are however, are happy to come round to your table part way through the meal and ask if everything is ok. Pretty standard for restaurants, but that's good, at least they are keeping that standard.

The food normally takes around 15-25 minutes to arrive although in the busy town centre of Nottingham, the one near the town hall is very busy and i expect it to take more time especially during special events like the ice rink near christmas time. The food is normally of good quality. I have had the occasional pizza come out with just a dashing of topping and mostly base and sauce but this was quickly sorted by the staff.

Their pasta's are very nice but as you'd expect, packed with calories and no nutritional value whatsoever. The salad is also very nice and is always on a sort of salad car type of bar in the middle of the restaurant with people swarming round it. They have sauces, bacon bits, lots of cold pasta and veg such as beetroot and potato salad.

Tables are always cleaned before someone sits down and the premises is generally kept up to scratch in terms of hygiene. The one at Mansfield recently had their toilets re done and now looks very modern. Pizza hut also do a lot of nice one off's too, like for birthday parties they dim the lights and bring out a cake singing happy birthday to the child who's birthday it is. Parties can be arranged in store or by phone. They also do promotional one off's too, like the secret envelope which can only be opened by a manager on a certain date, which will have food vouchers or prizes inside.

Overall this is a great place but parking is an issue and at busy times in city centre Pizza Hut's you'll find you have to wait for a fairly long amount of time. My advice: Come early.

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a relaxed family friendly pizza place

I just went to the Pizza Hut at Crystal Peaks in Sheffield. I took along with me my two sons and one sons girlfriend. Before setting off I had peviously printed a 50% off stuffed crust pizza from the Pizza Hut site. Pizza Hut often has different money off promotions, so it is well worth a search on the internet before going there to eat. On entering the restuarant we were warmly greeted by a friendly staff member, who was very obliging and gave us a booth table thst we had all wanted to sit at.The restuarant was quite busy and we found that we had to wait about 10 minutes before someone came along to take our order. When ordering our pizza's, I said I had a voucher to use. At this point I did notice a distinct change in the server's customer service towards us, which I did feel a little off putting. I ordered a flaming hot stuffed crust pizza, that lived up to its name! and a fairly normal double peperroni. I also ordered a lasagne which my son ate and he said was very tasty. I had thought the pizza crust would be deep pan, but it came as thin crust. We had not been asked about this choice option when ordering and I was slightly disappointed as the pizza crust was very thin and not very fulling. We also received free unlimited salad with our meal. You are given a small cereal type of bowl in which to put your salad. It does not hold very much, so like me you will probably find yourself going back for more. I thought the salad choice itself was average but were presented in very small containers, which did not present the salad choices in the best way..Overall I would say we had a tasty enjoyable meal at Pizza Hut at a discounted cost and although the customer service was inconsistant the food was tasty and enjoyable.

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a nice Pizza Hut

~Pizza Hut, Glasgow~

Argyle StreetGlasgowG2 8BU

0141 221 0144

There are few Pizza Huts in Glasgow City Centre but I will focus on the Argyle Street restaurant. This particular Pizza Hut is just outside of Central Train Station and sits on a corner near KFC, McDonalds and Chopstix. There is no reserved parking but there is a paid car park a few minutes walk from the restaurant.

This Pizza Hut is open 7 days a week and offers a sit in and take out menu. Opening times are as follows :

*Sunday 12.00-22.00*Monday 12.00-21.30*Tuesday-Saturday 11.00-23.00

Pizza Hut has disabled facilities and baby facilities including high chairs.

~Food Available~

As you would expect, Pizza Hut mainly offers pizzas with a few additional menu options.

*Starters - include potato wedges, nachos and garlic bread priced from £2.25.*Pasta dishes - include lasagne, mushroom bake and salmon bake priced from £7.95*Salad is available for £5.55 for as much as you want. This is free with each main meal purchased.*Pizza - lots to choose from starting with what type of base you want (pan, thin or gluten free) and then lots of vegetarian toppings, meat and other toppings that you can mix and match. Set pizza options are available including 'Double Pepperoni' and 'Chicken Supreme'. You can go half and half or add cheese bites. Pizzas are available in regular or large sizes priced from £6.75.*Desserts - cookie dough with toppings,crumble, fudge cake, ice cream from the Factory. Priced from £2.95.*Childrens meals - £3.99 for salad, pizza/pasta and a drink.*Drinks - unlimited fizzy juice, water, wine, beer and alcopops from £1.50.

Pizza Hut also offer a weekday buffet for £6.99 (adult) and £3.99 (child) as well as weekday happy hour deals at certain times. Check the website for more details www.pizzahut.co.uk.

~Our Visit~

I love Pizza Hut but we don't get to visit much now as I am on a diet and my son doesn't like anything that they offer. We have visited the Argyle Street Pizza Hut several times and have never had any problems during our visits here. Our most recent visit to this restaurant was on Sunday. I had planned a shopping trip with my friend in Glasgow and we had planned on going to an Italian restaurant. After wandering around for 2 solid hours, we couldn't find a table anywhere that was within our price range. We gave up and decided to go to Pizza Hut!

We were seated quickly though the restaurant was quite busy. This Pizza Hut is set across two levels and on this occasion we opted to sit downstairs. The restaurant is clean as are the toilets but there are a lot of tables crammed in to a small space. There isn't an ideal amount of space at the buffet area and it does feel quite crammed. Service in this restaurant is friendly and food is served promptly and always with a smile. The buffet and occasional set menus offer good value for money. We have participated in these offers before but they aren't available on a Sunday anymore so we had to order from the main menu.

~Mmm Food!~

Having dined at Pizza Hut a lot over the past few years, I have my favourite items for the menu. We ordered two strawberry milkshakes to drink and these were soooooo tasty as they had strawberry syrup in them! The menu is well laid out and sufficient time is given to decide what we want. Pizza Hut are really good at accommodating fussy eaters as we found as the man at the next table was a very plain eater. They cater for all and are family friendly with their dishes and service. Children are given pencils and paper too!

We ordered a dish of garlic bread to share which was lovely and some nachos. I am used to ordering these nachos at my local Pizza Hut but wasn't overly impressed with the lack of cheese on ours as it made them a little dry. The sour cream and salsa were lovely. We sometimes order the potato wedges as they are usually delicious. As we purchased two main meals, we were given a salad bowl to fill up. This is great if you have a big appetite but can be very filling so I didn't eat much. The salad bar is varied and everything looked and tasted fresh. I had a few different things including tomato pasta, breadsticks, coleslaw, beetroot and some tortilla chips.

I was desperate to have a pasta dish rather than pizza but was quite disappointed at the choice. I know the focus is on pizza but there are only four pasta dishes and two contain mushroom based sauces. I do love the pizza at Pizza Hut and have always found that the Argyle Street restaurant cooks it to perfection. My favourite is a pan pizza with pepperoni, bacon, lots of cheese and a stuffed crust - mmmmm! But anyway, I ordered lasagne (British and Irish beef, chianti bolognese sauce, tomatoes and topped with mature cheddar sauce - £7.96). Pizza Hut promote their pasta dishes as being foot long dishes. I was expecting something bigger than I could eat but received a nice narrow but long dish. My lasagne but cooked beautifully and hot through. There were a few layers of tasty pasta but not a massive amount of meat. The sauce was lovely and flavoursome but the best part was definitely the cheese topping - creamy and absolutely divine!

I enjoyed my foot long lasange but couldn't resist a bit of my friends pizza. She ordered a thin base cheese and onion pizza and it was huge - around 8 pieces in total. The pizza was lovely and perfectly seasoned though chilli flakes and parmasean are available if you fancy it. The pizza wasn't greasy which I appreciated. The pizza remained unfinished as it was so big. Pizza Hut give you the option of boxing up any remains but we had two slices left so declined as we were going to the market and didn't fancy carrying it about. It is good that this is an option though.

The desserts are choice is limited but I'm sure everyone will find something suitable. I always have room for dessert and couldn't resist ordering one of the 'exclusive to Pizza Hut' cookie dough desserts. My choice was banoffe cookie dough - out of this world! Warm, sticky, chewy and well worth the 555calories -! The ice cream was delicious and the sauce sweet. We got two spoons and shared so didn't consume as much calories really. We were full after our feast and very satisfied. I have tried the ice cream

~Conclusion~

Pizza Hut on Argyle Street is great for a bite to eat. The food is cooked well and there is lots of dishes to choose from. We paid around £33.00 for our food and drinks which I feel is reasonable given how happy we were. The service was good and the location is perfect for a bite to eat whilst out shopping. It does seem to be the busiest Pizza Hut in the City Centre from experience but most convenient as we like to shop in that area of Glasgow.

The nachos could have been doing with more cheese but other than that the food was good. The service we received was good but I do grudge paying so much for pizza even if it is delicious! We paid by cash but they accept debit cards and bring the machine to your table.

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Great for a cheap tasty Pizza.

I wouldn't say Pizza hut pizzas are anything like authentic Italian pizzas, they're very much an Americanised version of pizza and really not very good for you. They are, however, tasty!

I always look at what deals are on when I go to Pizza hut because there's often a voucher available online with a really good deal or then when you get there, there's often an early bird or other special menu.

Pizza hut has a salad bar that is much more than just lettuce and tomato for example it includes various pastas, potato salad, croutons etc etc and the best thing is that it's free and unlimited when you buy a main course! We like to go to Pizza hut before we go to the cinema, I tend to fill up on Salad, have a couple of slices of my Pizza and then ask them to box my Pizza hut to take away for the next days lunch! This has never been a problem and they box it up for free so in effect you're getting two meals for the price of one.

I really like the chill shaker that you get on the table - I find that this spices my Pizza up nicely and always put loads on.

There's plenty of choice and I wouldn't say I have a particular favourite. I tend to have the unlimited refill cordial though - a load of salad bar items and then a load of Pizza can make you thirsty!

Pizza hut isn't where i'd go on a special date or anything, it's often full of noisy kids but it serves it's purpose.

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Definitely worth a visit.

I have to start by saying that my partner and I eat out way too often. It is our only vice - we don't drink, smoke or party hard. We're more the stay in and play a board game type. Anyway, our favourite fast food restaurant has got to be Pizza Hut.

There are several Pizza Hut restaurants near where I live, I have visited them all at some point and the service has always been fabulous. The staff in Pizza Hut are generally really friendly and go out of their way to make you feel comfortable. I've seen them tolerate bratty kids, loutish dads and stuck up bimbos (on more than one occasion) and they are always very polite and professional, but assertive. The food is always quick to reach the table after ordering and is warm. Furthermore the restaurant is clean. I don't think I can ever say that I've received bad service in any Pizza Hut establishment. Hence why they always get a good tip from us. Occasionally we are disappointed when certain bases are out of stock, but staff are always upfront and tell us what they don't have right after we're seated.

The food itself is pretty delicious, but terribly unhealthy (unless you opt for the salad bar, or a pretty basic pizza) I was excited when they started doing pastas but their selection isn't great so I tend to stick to pizza. There are so many ways to customise your pizza (half and half? BBQ sauce? Half cheese?) that my partner and I usually argue about what to get, but that's all a part of the fun. Pizza Hut offer free refills on soft drinks and squash - this is brilliant as it saves me at least £4.50 off my final bill.

They are great for families too - there are usually some pretty great deals on, which making eating out in a larger group more affordable. They also provide colouring sheets and crayons for kids - always a big help to parents. I also think the staff are great with kids, speaking to them on their level but never condescending them. And of course the ice cream factory is always a hit with little ones!!

To sum up, I think Pizza Hut is a fab place to eat (not too often though - especially if health conscious!) with a lovely atmosphere and professional staff. Food is always tasty, warm and reasonably priced.

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great for family meal out with young children

We recently went for a meal out to pizza hut with our young children. I had not been in pizza hut for at least 5 years! As it seems a lot of the ones near me had closed down but with our new car we decided to drive to a pizza hut in one of the out of town shopping areas nearby and give it a try.

I have to say I was quite impressed with how good value it is, as they are giving out free unlimited salad bowls these days so you only have to buy the pizza and no need to pay out for any sides as you have the salad. One large pizza was the right amount for us 2 adults and 2 children (+ a baby eating a little bit here and there) so for this and the drinks and deserts it came to around 30 pounds for everyone which is much cheaper than a lot of meals come to these days.

The taste of the food is good, I have always liked pizza hut since I was little and I still find it nice especially with the salad bar. It was the first time my boys had been there, although they have had the take away but it does taste much nicer when it is fresh in the restaurant. My 3 year old said it was delicious and scrumptious so clearly he really liked it. They will give half half different toppings on the pizza which is handy as we could have plain for the children and a vegetable one for our selves.

The restaurant was nice and clean and fresh looking, and we had a nice curved shape booth seat with a spinning part on top of the table to put the pizza on, which I found quite cool and better than a normal table.

The children were given colouring sheets, activity book, crayons and hats to make so plenty to keep them busy while waiting for the food which is always a good thing as it makes your life easier.

I remember the ice cream machine from when I was little so I thought my boys would find it quite exciting and I was correct! This is a really fun feature of the restaurant which makes it a bit more fun than other meals out for young children, in my opinion. They really enjoyed adding all the toppings on themselves, and seeing the machine, as well as enjoyed the taste.

I'm sure we will go back again soon and not leave it so long before visiting again this time.

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A yummy pizza delivered hot to your door

Everyone likes a good old pizza, well I'm guessing everyone likes a pizza, have yet to meet anyone who doesn't, I've even known a couple of people who don't even like cheese but still like a good pizza.

Pizza hut (as the name suggests) is a pizza restaurant, it was founded by brothers Dan and Frank Carney in Kansas America in 1958 and has since spread to most countries in the world. Pizza huts can be dine in restaurants, take aways or a combination of both. As I live in the UK I will be focussing on pizza huts located in the UK, but I imagine menus are very similar in different countries.

The take away menu (I mainly go for take aways) at your typical pizza hut consists mainly of pizzas, but they also offer pastas (in keeping with the italiany theme), a variety of side dishes and deserts. If you are eating in at the restaurant they also offer a salad buffet (comes free with any main dish or can be bought separately on its own), unlimited fizzy and diluting juice refills and at lunch time there is a buffet of pizza, pasta and salad. There is also a children's menu available if you eat in, this includes salad, pizza, pasta, juice and deserts.

The lunchtime buffet is a very reasonable price at around £6.99 for adults and £3.99 for kids and is available until 3pm. Unlimited drinks are available all day and are around £2, the unlimited refills is a great idea because sometimes drinks can be very expensive and if you are extra thirsty can get a bit pricey unless you just want tap water!

Take aways can be ordered by phone or online, you can pay by card or cash on delivery if your order is less than £20. I prefer to order online as you can take your time choosing what you want and see what is available. The pizza hut website is is well laid out and easy to use. You first need to enter your postcode so your nearest resteraunt can be located, then you chose if you want your order to be delivered or if you want to collect it, you can even chose a time later on in the day you want your order to be delivered (have never tried that one myself). I have found delivery to always be really really fast, usually less than 20mins and the order always arrives nice and hot :)

The choice of pizzas at pizza hut is immense, first you chose your pizza base, the choices include italian (thin base), pan (thick base, my favourite), stuffed crust (a ring of cheese at the edge of the crust), cheesy bites (similar to stuffed crust, individual cheesy bites you can pull of the edge) and the newest one, hot dog stuffed crust (yes, there is a ring of hotdogs baked round the edge of the base). Then you choose your size of pizza (small, medium or large, pan is only available in medium or large, the stuffed crust and cheesy bite pizzas are only available in large). Next is what you want as your toppings, there are a variety of pre-made topping selections such as the hawaiian (ham and pineapple), chicken supreme (chicken, mushrooms, mixed peppers and onions) or the meat machine (peperoni, ham, steak, spicy beef, spicy pork sausage and chicken). You can also choose to create your own with as many toppings as you like, as well as having either tomato, BBQ or no sauce or having double, less or no cheese, the combinations are endless!

There is also a very good selection of sides, dips and deserts. The sides include garlic bread, nachos, potato skins and BBQ chicken wings as well as many others. The dips you can get are BBQ, garlic and herb, sour cream and chive and sweet chilli (sour cream and chive is my fav and they are only 39p per dip or 3 for 99p). The deserts include warm cookie dough, cake slices, cheesecake slices and ice cream. You ca also get cans or 2 litre bottles of fizzy drink.

Pizza huts major downfall I have to say is the price, you can pay up to £18 for one pizza (I could probably get a weeks shop for that!) which is shocking, since it costs so much I only get a pizza hut very occasionally and always use a discount voucher which luckily are pretty easy to come by! I currently have vouchers for buy one get one pizza free, £10 if you spend £25 and 50% if you spend £35 (if you search online for pizza hut vouchers you can usually find one as well), still works out a bit on the pricey side if you compare it to bog standard supermarket pizzas, but they are very very nice pizzas, mmm!

So if you like pizzas and you fancy a treat you should definitely give them a go!

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a great way to round a day of shopping and feed hungry bellys!

With 2 adults and 2 hungry children to feed on a relatively modest budget, Pizza Hut is a treat that we like to indulge in.

Where:

We mainly frequent the Manchester city centre branches of Pizza Hut.

Restaurant:

On the whole, Pizza Hut restaurants are clean and tidy. The tables are always cleaned before we sit down. If we choose to visit later on a Saturday afternoon, we do tend to experience a wait, but his has never been more than 15 minutes, and we are always given menus to browse whilst we are waiting.Food:

Voucher is my favourite word, and we tend to eat at Pizza Hut when we have a kids eat free voucher.

Kids meals consist of a small pizza cut into four, either topped with pepperoni or ham. They can also have food from the unlimited salad bar, as well as refillable drinks.

If you have the kids meal, you also have the option of having ice cream factory for just a pound.

The adults pizzas average around £8. My favourite topping is the double pepperoni on the thicker base - it is alot of pizza for your money. I also recommend adults have the refillable soft drinks.

Service:

Generally service is good to excellent, as you would expect at a family friendly venue such as pizza hut. Unfortunately the kids have managed to spill drinks twice when we've gone, but cleaning them up has never been too much trouble for the staff, and they are always happy to chat to the kids.

Overall:

Pizza Hut is great for casual dining. The pizzas are tasty, if slightly greasy, but there is plenty of food to go around. Service is efficient and with a smile, and they do not turn up their noses to you using a voucher - in fact they positively encourage it.

My bill has always averaged around £23, which I think is great value for four people to leave completely satisfied.

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Nice for a relaxed, casual pizza meal, though it can get expensive.

This review focuses on the Manchester East Didsbury restaurant, though it contains general information across other restaurants in the chain.

As with other Pizza Hut restaurants, this store is typical in style. Clean wooden tables, wide aisles and the trademark red and yellow branding. Upon entry we were greeted by a friendly staff member who allowed us to pick the table we wanted (we went for next to the salad bar, for maximum people watching) and introduced himself as our waiter for the evening. After ordering drinks we looked at the menus, which never really change but are worth a browse any way. As we feeling flush, we decided to have starters as well as a main.

For starters, we shared large stuffed cheese and garlic mushrooms. These were two portobello mushrooms, cooked slightly (grilled, I imagine) and placed on a plate with balsamic vinegar. These were quite tasty, definitely moreish! And at £3.95 for the pair, not too bad price wise either. Overall they made a nice starter to our meal and one that we would probably get again. However this was the only starter that even looked appealing to us - so not something we'd always choose. You get a piece of garlic bread with it as well, which was tiny even before we split it in half. Seems a bit odd to me, but there you go!

For the main course, you can choose between pizza or pasta dishes such as cheese, broccoli and pea pasta and lasagne. Personally, I've had the cheese, broccoli and pea pasta before when they were running the £5 meal deal, and I was impressed with it. It's almost like a macaroni cheese, but because of the vegetables in it you don't really notice it as just a plain cheese sauce. On this occasion we ordered a large, cheesy bites half double pepperoni and half meat feast pizza. It arrived promptly and was very hot and tasty, exactly what we wanted. The couple across from us remarked on how good our pizza looked and so changed their order to include cheesy bites as well - definitely a good decision! Cheesy bites are a variation of a stuffed crust pizza. Instead of the stuffed crust being a continuous ring around the base of the pizza, cheesy bites are individual (about 4 per pizza slice) and so you can pull them off and dip them individually. I find it strange that no dip is offered alongside this kind of pizza base, as they're a little bland on their own - but I guess that's another 80p they can squeeze out of you (for two dips). You do however currently get a free salad bowl with every main meal. This was welcomed though by the time I'd got two slices into my pizza I was full! We were given the option to take the left overs with us but as we were going to the cinema, my other half gallantly stuffed the last two slices down.

Whilst our meal was fine, we noticed that there were a few problems in the behind the scenes running of the restaurant. For one, the chef kept messing up orders and a couple of tables didn't get the right meal - one table had ordered a large pizza but the chef cooked them a regular and with a ten to fifteen minute cooking time, it would have been unfair to serve his wife her food without serving him his, so the waiter gave him the regular size pizza AND a free large pizza to take home with him. There were various other mistakes, such as one pizza needing extra cheese that hadn't been added on and some starters being mislaid (thankfully not ours!) and the chef seemed to have a little bit of a problem with being called out on his mistakes. The waiting staff dealt with this professionally and were very quick to spot the problems and sort them out.

With our bill we received a mysterious looking red envelope. It turns out Pizza Hut are currently running a promotion where you get a red envelope with a guaranteed gift inside with every bill - with prizes including iPads and holidays to Orlando, Florida. Obviously there's all the usual food related prizes as well... What's the catch? You can't open the envelope! If you don't open it, and return the envelope to any Pizza Hut store between the 4th of January and the 8th of February, the waiter will open it for you and you receive whatever prize is inside. Clever promotion really! I've kept hold of ours because my other half can't even keep himself from looking in my email account to see what I've bought him for Christmas... this envelope would stand no chance if I left it with him!

Overall, we spent about £26 on a large pizza, starter for two and two free refill drinks. It's an expensive meal for what it is but we enjoyed ourselves and as a treat it's nice to go to once in a while. However, if we order in we nearly always go with Dominoes - it's unfortunate they don't do restaurants! For Pizza Hut, the pizzas are decent and I've never had a problem with the service. However it is a little pricey for what it is!

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The Hut - should upgrade to a mansion

The Hut

As a maturing gent, my opinion of 'The Hut' is garnished with nostalgia, deep red plastic, and corrugated menu's the size of a surf board. Years ago, I was selected to make a salad sky-scraper out of mini celery sticks, cucumber, lettuce, and then layer the foundation with cubed crotons, sweet corn, bacon bits and cherry tomatoes. The salad concoction had to be glued together with the collection of 'blue cheese', and 'Thousand' sauces available at the edge of the salad bar. All this had to be achieved inside a normal shell shaped bowl - layer upon layer until the salad sky scraper towered over the bowl resembling a round 'Leaning Tower of Pisa' - lopsided, a congealed salad orgy. 'Hut' customers would stare at your concentrated walk back to your saucer-eyed family - the only three willing the construction to be fully intact, before dismembering. Eyes in close proximity to them were pouring scorn, mouthing the words, 'such greed' - then as soon as they receive their salad bowl, they concoct a vast salad construction of their own.

I've descended on several 'Pizza Huts' in London - however I leaned towards Croydon whenever that doughy urge swoons in from my belly. Odd eating pattern that simulates a homing pigeon - maybe it's the spacious interior - primitive signs on the walls - a lesser chance a moron would timely bump into you whilst on the precarious voyage back to the systematically wiped hygienic table. Very civilized, courteous people in Croydon; the place is riddled with articulate Ralph Steadmans' - who gently dab their hooters, rather than blowing grotesquely amplified squelches out of them. Each time I check-in - the same well mannered folk and staff fill out the vicinity; loyal to 'The Hut' - I assume they've been there since they were wearing grey shorts and floral petticoats. Now they've filled out presumably with dough, they've amalgamated with the place, inside and out.

'The Hut' in Croydon isn't like a fast food outlet, partly due to the lack of pace generally. Your allowed to amble your way through a Frisbee sized 'four seasons' at your leisure; ooze out your time in slow motion, as if doing everything underwater. The staff motto being - "Your pizza will be ready in twenty minutes. Thank you for your patience". And again on pizza arrival, - "Thank you for your patience". At least I can be assured that this 'Hut' outlet takes pride in on not poisoning their customers and lovingly dresses up and cooks the pizza ready for annihilation and being scoffed. A little emotional sniff was detected when the waitress loaded the table up with garlic bread, two half fat Cokes and the two pizzas; one pepperoni with a collection of peppers and a four seasons which plastered the dough base with cheese. I was tempted to blurt out to the dainty waitress that the pizzas were going to a good home - so no need to get emotional. Instead I delved into the deep pan, the thought was long gone - belly satisfaction my priority.

The airy deep pan slice embarked on its epic task of getting basked in saliva and chomped to a pulp ready for its journey through each chamber of digestion. The familiar yeasty taste is worryingly addictive - the flavour sends off flirty signals to the brain; by which the brain responds with a 'yum'. And worse still it remembers the experience and that's when the birth of the doughy craving starts. Like an impatient three year old, the brain starts dictating to the belly; hence; the birth of spare tyres. And why 'The Hut' has been in existence since 'Luna 2 crashed onto the surface of the moon (1959)'. Obviously the control crew was enjoying a pizza. 'The Hut' corporation tinkers with layering - different levels of seating, even on the flat grounded establishments they seem to raise the flooring for some 'Titchmarsh mini Decking' adjacent to a fresh flowery face, saying the standard 'niceties on arrival.

Having Got Stuffed

Never managed to polish off a whole pizza - I'm beaten by the dough as it expands in my stomach, stretching out, as if on a holiday lounger. At this point I'm thankful for the robust air-con, it evaporated any beads of perspiration I would have had. In the corner, next to the salad bar's laminated arena; I spied an 'ice-cream maker' plus an additional 'Willy Wonka' styled enterprise of sweet toppings - naturally for the hardened obese who have not yet been beaten by the mountain of dough they've just devoured. How could it be even contemplated? Suddenly the stench of yeast that just passed by, left me inwardly reeling; at once, I was aware of the overpowering pizza odors, my stomach grumbled in a complaining manner, as if I was force feeding it. This always happens. I get reminded of it for a week tops and then the memory subsides - until I get another yeast pang.